Alberto Manguel

Alberto Manguel (born 1948 in Buenos Aires) is a Canadian-Argentinian author, translator, and editor. Most of his books fall within the realm of non-fiction, with his most notable works being "The Dictionary of Imaginary Places" (1980), "A History of Reading" (1996), "The Library at Night" (2007), and "Homer's Iliad & Odyssey: A Biography" (2008). Manguel spent his childhood in Israel, where his father was appointed as the Argentine ambassador. Later, his family moved back to Buenos Aires, where Manguel found a job in a bookstore. This opportunity allowed him to meet Jorge Luis Borges up close: being blind from birth, Borges often asked others to read excerpts or book titles to him whenever he visited a bookstore. Thus, the young Alberto had the fortune to assist this legendary literary figure several times a week from 1964 to 1968. From 1961 to 1966, Manguel attended the National College of Buenos Aires, where he was taught by some of Argentina's most prominent intellectuals. He then attended the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature at the University of Buenos Aires for just one year (1967). He soon discontinued his studies to work in publishing, and in 1969, he traveled to Europe and began collaborating with well-known publishing houses such as Denoel, Gallimard, and Les Lettres Nouvelles in Paris, and Calder & Boyars in London, offering his services as a reader. In 1971, Manguel was awarded the Premio La Nacion literary prize by the Buenos Aires government for a collection of his short stories. Until that time, Manguel divided his time between London and Paris. However, a year later, he returned to Buenos Aires to work as a reporter for the newspaper La Nacion—a collaboration that lasted until 1974, when he left for Milan. There, he worked at a publishing house, where he had the opportunity to meet the author Gianni Guadalupi. Shortly after, at Guadalupi's encouragement, Manguel wrote (with Guadalupi's assistance) "The Dictionary of Imaginary Places," a valuable guide mapping the mythical kingdoms and imaginary places described in classic books of the genre, such as the world of "Oz" (L. Frank Baum), "Wonderland" (Lewis Carroll), "Narnia" (C.S. Lewis), "Utopia" (Thomas More), as well as other idealized places like Atlantis, Shangri-La, and the realm of "Middle-earth" from "The Lord of the Rings" (J.R.R. Tolkien). From 1976 to 1982, Manguel frequently changed residence, moving from Italy to Haiti, then to England, Paris, and back to Haiti. Meanwhile, he earned his living working as an editor for Ram Publications (based in Surrey) and Les Editions du Pacifique (based in Haiti). Finally, in 1982, Manguel permanently moved to Toronto, Canada (later acquiring Canadian citizenship), where he stayed until 2000. This was his most creative period, as in 1983, he published his most famous collection of short stories titled "Black Water: The Book of Fantastic Literature." Since then, he has collaborated with major newspapers such as the Globe & Mail (Toronto), The Village Voice (New York), The Times (London), The Washington Post, The Sydney Morning Herald, and others. His first novel, "News From a Foreign Country Came" (1992), earned him the McKitterick Prize, and shortly thereafter, he participated in two university lectures as an honorary guest and speaker. From 1997 to 1999, in a special program at the University of Calgary, he was consecutively elected as the "most distinguished writer." In the past ten years, Manguel has been honored with numerous awards from various organizations: from the honorary doctorate awarded by the University of Liège to the celebratory event organized in his honor at the Pompidou Center in Paris, inviting him to organize a series of quarterly seminars, which included lectures, tributes, and film screenings. Similar awards and honors have been bestowed upon him by state bodies and organizations in Spain, Italy, Serbia, Germany, the United States, and Buenos Aires. The author has been living in France since 2000 and maintains a regular column in Geist magazine.